Behind the twinkling lights is a darker reality
As I started writing, I realized my topic on Christmas was already well-worn, but I felt compelled to cover it again. Because the older I get, the more I have mixed feelings about this so called "holy" day.

Bill calls for better mileage, more ethanol
WASHINGTON - The Senate passed a trimmed-back energy bill Thursday that would bring higher-gas mileage cars and SUVs into showrooms in the coming decade and fill their tanks with ethanol.

Despite gas prices, retail sales up
WASHINGTON - A record jump in gasoline prices pushed up wholesale inflation in November at the fastest pace in more than three decades, while retail sales showed unexpected strength.

Fed announces cash auction to banks
WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced a novel approach to injecting money into the banking system as it struggles to combat a severe credit crunch that threatens to drag the country into a recession.

Footwear industry lobbying to end tariff
WASHINGTON - Footwear makers and retailers are trying to stomp out a Depression-era U.S. government shoe tax, a move they say could save American consumers hundreds of millions of dollars annually and kick-start relatively flat footwear sales.

Testing: Lady Raiders face devil of an opponent
The Lady Raiders (9-1), who have been off since last Tuesday to focus on their studies, now must focus on what figures to be their toughest opponent this season. No. 18 Arizona State (5-3) will visit United Spirit Arena at 7 p.m. today, when Tech takes on a nationally ranked foe for the first time this year.

Today in History
On Dec. 14, 1799, the first president of the United States, George Washington, died at his Mount Vernon, Va., home at age 67.

Help get impaired drivers off highway
IF YOUR LIFE or the life of someone you know has been impacted by a driver who put others in harm's way with his or her drunken or reckless behavior, turn on your headlights and your porch lights Friday.

Patients were harmed by insurance standoff
THE RESOLUTION of differences between Covenant Medical Group and BlueCross BlueShield of Texas was welcome news for our city. We are pleased the Covenant doctors are back in the insurance company's network.

Midland store helps you decorate
t all began during the childhood of two sisters selling burlap flowers, candy out of a refrigerated box and crafts. It led to a store known for its quality, selection and service.

Bye bye movies
According to booking news confirmed by Lubbock's indoor movie theater managers this week, the following four films are expected to be gone by Friday.

Dancer helps link 'Charlie Wilson's War' to its Texas roots
WASHINGTON - Oscar-winning director Mike Nichols was looking for just the right dancer this spring for "Charlie Wilson's War," a movie about a former Texas congressman, when he got a tape of a striking brunette with electric blue eyes.

Merlot: It is noble whether it's lauded or disrespected
These days, you can't write about Merlot without saying something about the movie "Sideways." It's a rarity that a film with such minimal substance would leave such a lasting impression, but such is the nature of our media-driven world.

Maines' double-double lifts Roosevelt past Hale Center
ACUFF - Amber Maines recorded a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds, leading the Roosevelt girls basketball team to a 36-27 win over Hale Center in the first round of the 2007 Acuff Varsity Invitational Tournament.

Violence: Watching for signs of trouble
One young man had a history of depression and drug abuse. Another was said to closely follow the Columbine case and reject help from counselors. And a fight at school appears to have provoked a third.

Accrediting group puts Tech on probation
A regional collegiate accrediting organization placed Texas Tech on probation Tuesday for failing to show that its curriculum produced college-level competency.

Road Work
 98th Street - Phase I main trunk line on the South Lubbock Drainage Project continues. Construction continues along Vicksburg Avenue from 98th Street north.

Senate rejects latest bids to scale back ag subsidies
WASHINGTON - The Senate on Thursday rejected two attempts to limit annual payments to farmers, frustrating lawmakers who had hoped that this year's multibillion-dollar farm bill would scale back the government's massive subsidy programs.

Poll: Hispanics feeling more vulnerable in U.S.
WASHINGTON - Most Hispanics say the immigration debate and Congress' failure to overhaul immigration laws have hurt them, and many fear deportation for themselves, a relative or close friend, a poll showed Thursday.

Digital billboards to help find most wanted
MOBILE, Ala. - Between ads for hamburgers and liposuction, the giant digital billboards flashed an image of Oscar Finch's face taken by a surveillance camera. The young man wasn't selling anything. He was running from police.

Oft-troubled rock pioneer Ike Turner dies
SAN DIEGO - Ike Turner, whose role as one of rock's critical architects was overshadowed by his ogrelike image as the man who brutally abused former wife Tina Turner, died Wednesday at his home in suburban San Diego. He was 76.

Bush vetoes legislation for uninsured children again
WASHINGTON - President Bush vetoed legislation Wednesday that would have expanded government-provided health insurance for children, his second slap-down of a bipartisan effort in Congress to dramatically increase funding for the popular program.

Alternative minimum tax fix blocked by GOP vote
WASHINGTON - Confronting the Senate and White House, House Democrats for a second time passed tax relief for 21 million people, going after companies and hedge fund managers that shelter money offshore. The vote Wednesday was a near party-line 226-193.

Egypt: Bush at fault if talks fail
WASHINGTON - Egypt's ambassador to Washington said Thursday the Bush administration has only months to show real progress toward Mideast peace and will be judged harshly if peace talks fall apart again.

Texas stands alone with its below-average temperatures
WASHINGTON - A vast swath of the United States was warmer than usual this year, leading to severe drought conditions and wildfires in the West and Southeast. Texas, the Lone Star state, stood alone, the only one to record below-average temperatures.

Republican presidential candidates call for deep cuts in programs
JOHNSTON, Iowa - Republican presidential rivals called for deep cuts in federal spending Wednesday in a debate remarkably free of acrimony, and agreed the reductions they seek need not require painful sacrifice by millions of Americans who rely on government services.

Ice storm behind them, Oklahomans try to survive cold
OKLAHOMA CITY - After three nights in a freezing, powerless home, Jeanetta Plunkett couldn't take any more. She picked up her two young grandchildren and sought refuge at a shelter for people who lost electricity after a huge ice storm.

Winter storm blankets Northeast with snow, sleet
COLUMBIA, Conn. (AP) - A winter storm responsible for deaths in the Midwest blasted the Northeast on Thursday, dumping snow and sleet and clogging some of the nation's most heavily traveled highways.

Wayne McClaran
Funeral services for Wayne McClaran, 63, of Farwell, Texas, will be at 2 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 15, 2007, at Bovina Church of Christ, with ministers Mike Prather and Cecil Bunch, of Clovis, N.M., officiating. Burial will be in the Oklahoma Lane Cemetery, south of Bovina, by Blackwell Funeral Home.

Muriel Mann
Celebration of life services for Faye Muriel Mann, 84, of Lubbock, will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 15, 2007, at Resthavens Abbey Chapel. A visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. today, Dec. 14, 2007 at Resthaven Funeral Home

Erdie Franklin Hayes
The family and friends of Erdie Franklin Hayes will gather from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. to reminisce his 84 years of life. A ceremony celebrating his life is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 15, 2007, at Lake Ridge Chapel, followed by a committal service at Englewood Cemetery, in Slaton. Mr. Hayes passed from this life on Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2007.

Daisy King
Services for Daisy King, 89, of Ralls, will be at 2 p.m., Friday, Dec. 14, 2007 at the Ralls First Baptist Church, with Dr. Kermit Coy Little officiating. Burial will be in the Ralls Cemetery, under direction of Adams Funeral Home of Ralls.

Bertha Mae Thompson
Bertha Mae Thompson, of McKinney, and formerly of Whiteface, Dimmitt, and Lubbock, passed into the arms of her Heavenly Father on Dec. 11, 2007. Born Aug. 7, 1917 in Frederick, Okla., her family moved to a farm northeast of Whiteface in 1926.

James H. Jamison
Services for James H. Jamison, 73, of Lubbock, will be 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 14, 2007, at Community Baptist Church. Viewing will be 4 6 p.m. today, at Community Baptist Church.

Robert Henry Lowrey, Jr.
Robert Henry Lowrey, Jr. was born in Lubbock, on July 17, 1926. He went to be with his Lord and Savior on Dec. 12, 2007. The family will receive visitors today at Resthaven Funeral Home from 6 to 8 p.m. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2007, at Lubbockview Christian Church, 3301 34th Street, with the Rev. Bill Hendricks officiating. Interment will follow in Resthaven Memorial Park.

Lt. Cal Walker N. Metcalf
Retired U.S. Army MOAA of Greater Lubbock Chapter. In spring of 2007, received 50 year pens from the America Bar Association, University of Texas Law School, State Bar of Texas, and the Lubbock Lions Club.

Doyle Eugene (Gene) Turner
A celebration of life will be held for Doyle Eugene (Gene) Turner, 71, of Canton, Texas on Saturday, Dec. 15, 2007, at 2 p.m., at the home, 450 Van Zandt County Road 3119, Canton, Texas.

Doyle Eugene (Gene) Turner
A celebration of life will be held for Doyle Eugene (Gene) Turner, 71, of Canton, Texas on Saturday, Dec. 15, 2007, at 2 p.m., at the home, 450 Van Zandt County Road 3119, Canton, Texas.

Loma Richards
Funeral services for Loma Richards, 95, of Levelland, will be 2 p.m., today, Dec. 14, 2007, at the First Missionary Baptist Church, Morton, with Rev. Bob Baldree, pastor, officiating. Burial will be in the City of Levelland Cemetery, under direction of George Price Funeral Home in Levelland. She died Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2007, at Covenant Hospital, in Levelland.

Death notices
W.G. "Joe" Bacon of Bastrop, formerly of Seminole and Andrews, died Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2007. Private services are pending with Boyer Funeral Home in Seminole.

Bill M. Clark
Bill M. Clark, age 90, died at home Dec. 10, 2007. Born June 3, 1917, in Milam County, Bill Clark was a self-made man, an entrepreneur in the truest sensefrom farmer turned businessman. A resident of Hockley County since 1932, Clark established himself in the Levelland community when he opened a Gulf station in the mid 1940s, then later the Platter Chatter Record Shop, a Humble turned Esso station, and in 1954, Bill Clark Sporting Goods, a business he enjoyed until his retirement in 1980.

Tiger good, but Furyk leads Target Challenge
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Tiger Woods went 10 weeks and four days without hitting a golf shot that mattered, and it hardly showed Thursday in the Target World Challenge when he struck just about everything where he was aiming.

Swingers file lawsuit against sex club ordinance
DALLAS (AP) - Swingers whose sex parties in a suburban home were outlawed by city leaders filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging a new sex club ordinance is an unconstitutional check on "the most private of human conduct."

Lawyer says client innocent of child's death
HOUSTON - An attorney for the stepfather accused of killing the toddler known as "Baby Grace" said Thursday that his client didn't kill the girl, and blamed her mother for mischaracterizing what happened.

Federal agency threatens to take land
EL PASO - In a written ultimatum to South Texas land owners opposed to plans to build a border fence, federal officials foreshadow the possible use of eminent domain to buy land for border fence construction.

Milder drugs may fight cancer better
SAN ANTONIO - Thousands of breast cancer patients each year could be spared chemotherapy or get gentler versions of it without harming their odds of beating the disease, new research suggests.

Putin puts move on Kasparov
MOSCOW - The Kremlin appears to have checkmated chess genius Garry Kasparov, eliminating the internationally known figure from the presidential race.

New Argentine president angry over U.S. accusation
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Argentina's new president reacted furiously Thursday to accusations by U.S. prosecutors that an intercepted suitcase full of cash from Venezuela was meant to finance her election campaign, calling the charge "garbage in international politics."

Al-Sadr resumes study to become ayatollah
BAGHDAD - The leader of Iraq's biggest Shiite militia movement has quietly resumed seminary studies toward attaining the title of ayatollah - a goal that could make firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army an even more formidable power broker in Iraq.

Gates presses Europe for help in Afghanistan
EDINBURGH, Scotland - Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday pushed European allies for more troops to re-energize efforts in southern Afghanistan, where the Taliban insurgency has increased its attacks in the 18 months since NATO took command of the war.

Bird flu deaths increase to 93
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - An Indonesian man died of bird flu, bringing the death toll in the country worst hit by the virus to 93, a Health Ministry official said Friday.

Flood survivors blast Dominican officials
SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic (AP) - Survivors of a devastating flood lashed out at authorities Thursday for not warning that a dam's floodgates were being opened during Tropical Storm Olga, unleashing a deadly wall of water that killed as many as 20 people.

Car bombs in southern Iraq city kill dozens, injure 150
BAGHDAD - Three car bombs exploded in quick succession Wednesday at the main market of a southern Shiite city, killing at least 41 people and wounding 150, police and local government officials said. It was the deadliest attack against Iraqi civilians in four months.

Iraqis bury dead in fear of continuing violence
BAGHDAD (AP) - Families in a southern Iraqi city where a triple bombing claimed at least 25 lives buried their dead furtively, afraid of another attack and anxious for the dozens of wounded who remained hospitalized Thursday.

Palestinians hit roadblock on economy
RAMALLAH, West Bank - The Palestinian prime minister said he failed to win assurances from Israel's defense minister Thursday that he'll ease stifling restrictions on Palestinian movement - a measure seen as key to the success of an ambitious international effort to revive the Palestinian economy.